Combination shovel and pusher



Dec. 27, 1955 Filed May 15 1950 K. SZILLAGE COMBINATION SHOVEL AND PUSHER 2 Sheets-$heet l @f/Weg Dec 27, 1955 K. SZILLAGE 2,728,598

COMBINATION SHOVEL AND PUSHER Filed May 15, 1950 2 Sheets-Shet 2 gravy/745752 llllll I X W 54 J2 United States Patent COMBINATION SHOVEL AND PUSHER Kalman Szillage, Gary, Ind., assignor to Gardex, Inc., Michigan City, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application May 15, 1950, Serial No. 162,080

8 Claims. (Cl. 294-535) This invention relates to snow handling equipment, and more particularly to improvements in devices which may be readily converted from shovels to pushers or vice versa.

Heretofore in the clearance of snow, slush and the like it has been necessary to utilize individual tools such as shovels or pushers depending upon the character of the snowfall. For example, with light flufiy snow a snow pusher was indicated for clearance thereof, whereas in heavier snow with higher moisture content snow shovels were required for clearing the same. Hence the expense and inconvenience of maintaining separate tools has been a most objectionable deterrent which has resulted in the attempted introduction of combination tools to remedy this situation. To date none of such tools have proven successful because of various reasons such as ineffectiveness, excessive labor and mechanical skill required to convert one tool to the other, excessive weight, greatly increased cost and similar such objections.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a combination shovel and pusher which will overcome all of the objections stated above.

Another object is to afford a combination shovel and pusher in which no additional parts need be added or removed in order to convert the tool from one or the other functional device.

A further object is to provide a combination snow shovel and pusher in which the blade or shovel member may be adjusted to any desired angle as dictated by the character or consistency of the material in connection with which the tool is being used.

Still another object is to afford a novel clamping device in a combination shovel and pusher for effectively locking the blade in the position selected by the operator.

Still a further object is to provide a combination snow shovel and pusher whose total weight does not substantially exceed that of the usual weight of the ordinary snow shovel.

Yet another object is to afford a combination snow shovel and pusher which may be manufactured and sold at cost only slightly more than that of an ordinary snow shovel and considerably less than the combined price of an individual snow shovel and snow pusher.

Yet a further object is to provide a combination snow shovel and pusher in which the leading edge of the blade is at all times maintained in the same angular position with respect to the handle so that the directional vector of the operative force at all times may remain constant irrespective of the manner in which the tool is being used, i. e. as a shovel or pusher. An object relating thereto is to construct the device with a hinged blade; the upper portion movable with respect to the lower portion of the blade.

And still another object is to afford a practical, effective snow handling device readily adjustable for use as either a snow shovel or snow pusher and of simple inexpensive, yet durable construction.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which 2,728,598 Patented Dec. 27, 1955 will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement'and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings preferred embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawmgs:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a combination shovel and pusher constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention and showing the blade adjusted to the position for use as a snow shovel;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the same showing the blade adjusted to the position for use as a snow pusher;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view showing the blade and a portion of the handle, the blade being shown in solid outline in pusher position and in dotted outline in various other operative positions during the removal of a snowfall;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the back of the blade and a portion of the handle;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view taken on the plane of line 33 in Fig. 3 of the drawings and showing the clamping member of the combination shovel and pusher;

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing in perspective a constructional element of the clamping device;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail view similar to Fig. 5, but showing another embodiment of the clamping device; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 88 in Fig. 5 of the drawings and showing a detail of construction.

Turning now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates generally a snow handling tool comprising a handle assembly 12 and a blade member 14. The blade member 14 may be curved transversely with a leading or scraping edge 16 and a forwardly bent trailing or back edge portion 18. The blade itself comprises two portions, an upper member 20 and a lower member 22 hingedly connected by means of a transversely disposed hinging element 24 positioned below the transverse midaxis of the blade member 14.

The handle assembly 12 comprises a handle shaft or standard 26 having a handle hand rest 28 which may be of any standard construction to afford a hand grasping element 30 mounted at the top end of the shaft 26. The lower end of the shaft 26 may be extended to join with the lower blade portion 22, but I prefer to use the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. In this structure the lower portion of the shaft 26 may be inserted into and permanently retained within a tubular metal member 32 with the lower portion flattened and As was previously stated the upper blade portion 20 is movable with respect to the handle 12 and the lower blade portion 22. To movably aflix the blade 20 to the handle a novel structure is utilized which will now be described in detail. A pair of brackets 38 and 40 may be immovably aflixed to the back of the shovel portion 20 as by pairs of rivets 42 and 44'. These brackets may, be positioned one on either side of the tubular handle 32 and are constructed to afford bearing sockets 46 and48. A- V-shaped brace rod 50 havinglegs 52 and 54 are provided with outwardly bent lower shaft segments 56 and 58 adapted for positioning in rotative relationship within the bearing sockets 46 and 48 respectively. The apex of the V-shaped brace rod 50 is formed to afford a transverse shaft segment 60 which may be rotatively retained within a third bearing member 62 formed integrally in connection with a novel clamping sleeve 64.

This clamping sleeve 64 may comprise a cylindrically shaped member 66 which maybe formed from a rectangular shaped sheet of metal by bending the same about its longitudinal axis and then outwardly flanging the ends to afford a pair of parallel flanges 68 and 70 spaced one from the other. Through aligned openings formed in these flanges a transversely positioned tightening bolt 72 may be passed. The outer end of said bolt may be threaded as at 74. A flat washer 76 may then be threaded thereover and a nut 78 threaded thereon to retain the washer in position as shown in Fig. of the drawings. The other end of the shaft 72 may be provided with a tensioning arm 88 with one end permanently or removably aflixed (as desired) to the shaft, and said arm positioned in a plane at right angles to that of the shaft 72. The bolt 72 may be formed with a flat surface 73 at its threaded end portion. The washer 76 is formed with a central opening 75 having a cooperating flat surface 77. Hence the two flat surfaces 73 and 77 cooperate to cause the washer 76 to rotate with the bolt 72, thereby preventing the nut 78 from working loose.

Interposed between the tensioning arm 80 and the flange 68 is a novel cam member 82. This cam member is an nularly shaped with a flat surface 84 at the bottom thereof, the purpose of which will become apparent as the description proceeds. The cam member is formed with one flat vertical side 86 and an inclined side 88 having a groove 90 formed in the top portion of said inclined side 88. A central transverse opening 92 is provided to enable the cam to be mounted on the shaft 72 with the flat side positioned adjacent the flange 68 and the inclined side positioned adjacent the tensioning arm 80.

In operation the clamping device may be utilized to clamp the upper shovel portion 28 in any position desired (as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings) by merely rotating the tensioning arm 80 to the vertical or horizontal position. Thus, when the arm 80 is in the horizontal position, i. e. parallel to the shaft 32, the clamping sleeve 64 is thereby compressed by means of the flanges 68 and 70 so that it is intimately clamped to the tube 32. This is accomplished by means of the cooperation of the various elements of the clamping member as follows. Since the arm 80 is positioned at the widest or thickest portion of the cam member 82, the width of said cam interposed between the arm 80 and the flange 68 tends to draw the two flanges 68 and 70 together, because the movement of flange 70 is limited by the washer 76 and the nut 78.

Although the washer 76 is free to rotate as the clamp is tightened or loosened, the flat bottom 84 of the cam 82 prevents its rotation. When it is desired to loosen the clamping sleeve 64 the tensioning arm 80 may be moved to its vertical or upper position as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3 of the drawings. As the arm moves up along the inclined surface 88 the tension is relieved until the arm 80 is finally moved into the groove 90. This then loosens the clamping sleeve 64 sufliciently to permit its being moved slidably along the tube 32 to any position desired except as limited by the brace rod 50. As the sleeve 64 is moved upwardly the blade portion 20 follows because of its operative connection to the sleeve 64 through the brace rod 50.

The bearing 62 may be provided in the sleeve 64 by means of a depending flap 94 which may be headed and bent back on its own axes through an 180 angle, and welded to the member 66 as at 96. The handle 12 may be of any suitable material, but I prefer to use something other than metal such as wood, as metal may become excessively cold for handling with the bare hand.

The hinge 24 may be of any suitable form, but in the embodiment illustrated it is formed integrally with the blade 18 by affording a plurality of spaced tongue segments 98 at the bottom edges of the top blade portion 20 and a plurality of cooperatively and alternately spaced tongue segments 100 in the top edge of the lower blade portion 22. These tongue segments 98 and 100 may be arcuately bent to afford a transverse cylindrical bearing 102 through which a hinged shaft 104 may be positioned.

For the purpose of augmenting the stiffening properties of the metal blade 18 a plurality of longitudinally ribs 106 and 188 may be indented respectively, and in aligned position, in both the upper blade portion 20 and the lower blade portion 22. These stiffening ribs may be spaced one from the other as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings.

Although Fig. 5 of the drawing shows a preferred embodiment of tightening means, other types of such means may be used in connection with my invention. In Fig. 7 another such tightener is illustrated. Like parts are indicated by similar numerals with the added suffix a.

In this embodiment a carriage bolt 110 may be passed through the flanges 68a and 78a. The end of the bolt 110 may be threaded as at 112 and a washer 114 and wing nut 116 may be threaded thereon. The bolt head 118 is provided with a square undercut head 120 which is adapted to cooperate with a similarly shaped opening 122 formed in the flange 70a to prevent rotation of the bolt 110. When it is desired to tighten or loosen the sleeve 64a, the wing nut 1'16 is merely rotated in the proper direction to either draw the flanges 68a and 70a together or loosen them as the case may be.

In operation the device may be used as a shovel .(as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings) by merely sliding the clamping member 14 to its fully extended upper limit and tightening the clamp as explained above. If it is desired to increase the curvature of the shovel blade 14 or convert it to a pusher, the clamp is loosened and slid downwardly on the tube 32 to the desired position, thereby raising the upper blade member 20 to the desired position.

The clamp is once again tightened and the tool is used to clear the snow S from the pavement P as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Thus it can readily be seen that the present invention provides an effective readily adjustable combination snow handling device which may be used either as a shovel or as a pusher having a top or back member which may be readily adjusted to the proper angle depending upon the operator and the character of the snow with which it is being used. The device eliminates the necessity of maintaining separate pusher and shovel tools. Its light weight, simple, durable and inexpensive construction insures a practical device to fulfill a longfelt need for such a combination tool.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the character described, comprising a snow-clearing implement having a handle, a blade mounted on the lower end of said handle, said blade having a movable upper part, a clamping device carried by said handle and operatively connected to the free portion of said upper blade part, and said clamping device being releasable and shiftable lengthwise on said handle and adapted to angularly adjust said upper blade part with respect to the other blade parts, whereby said implement is converted from a snow pusher to a snow shovel comprised of said blade parts, said clamping device being slidably mounted on said handle and characterized by a sleeve with edge portions flanged outwardly and spaced parallelly, one from the other, and tightening means adapted to draw said flanges together to thereby clamp said sleeve on said handle.

2. The device of claim l in which said tightening means is characterized by a bolt transversely disposed in rotative relationship through said sleeve flanges, a tensioning arm afiixed to one of the ends of said bolt, sleeve retaining means affixed to the other outer end of said bolt and a cam member interposed between said tensioni'ng arm and one of said flanges.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said cam member is characterized by an inclined side adjacent said tensioning arm, the wider portion of said cam member being sufficient to force said flanges together and thereby clamp said sleeve to the handle when said arm is rotated so as to interpose said cam portion between said arm and said flange.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the narrower portion of said cam member is characterized by a groove adapted to receive therein a portion of said tensioning arm to thereby loosen said clamping device.

5. The device of claim 1 in which said tensioning means is characterized by a headed carriage bolt non-rotatably disposed through said flanges and a wing nut threaded on the free end of said bolt and rotatable on said bolt to force said flanges together.

6. A combination shovel and pusher comprising in combination, a wooden handle having a metallic tubular lower extension with a flattened arcuately shaped lower extremity, a curved blade riveted to said lower extremity and having a leading scraping edge and a forwardly bent trailing edge, said blade in turn comprising at least two segments, a transverse hinging element connecting said segments, a clamping sleeve slidably mounted on said handle extension, tightening means adapted to loosen or tighten said sleeve on said handle extension, a pair of bearing-socket-containing-brackets riveted to the back of said blade and positioned one on either side of said handle, and a V-shaped brace rod having its apex rotatably affixed to said clamping sleeve and its free ends bent outwardly and rotatably positioned within said bracket bearing sockets.

7. The combination shovel and pusher of claim 6 in which said tightening means comprises a tensioning-arm mounted on a bolt, said tensioning arm cooperating with a cam to tighten said clamping sleeve on the handle.

8. In a combination pusher and shovel comprising an integrated blade mounted at the lower end of a handle, the members of said blade hingedly connected one to the other, a clamping device slidably mounted on said handle and operatively connected to the top member of said blade, said clamping device movable to change the angular relationship between said blade members, and tightening means associated with said clamping device and comprising a tensioning-arm mounted on a bolt, said tensioning arm cooperating with a cam to tighten said clamping device on the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 345,992 Rolow July 20, 1886 827,542 Lawson July 31, 1906 1,076,048 McIntosh Oct. 21, 1913 1,196,206 Bulger et a1 Aug. 29, 1916 1,319,306 Rogers Oct. 21, 1919 2,317,560 Stroup Apr. 27, 1943 

